Sunday, May 26, 2013

Simple Extravagance

I have a story.

So the other night at work I was serving tables (I'm a server at a fine dining restaurant) late at night. Around 10pm a young fresh-faced couple in their 20's walk in with an old uni-browed homeless woman and sat down. The woman had dreaded hair, missing teeth, layers upon layers of dirty jackets and was hard to understand. They were my last table of the night and as I took their drink orders, I was touched by how the couple had picked up this old woman off the streets to bring her to dinner. Not just any dinner, but one of the most expensive places in town!

The lady's eyes lit up as she ordered one of the most expensive entrees on the menu, and the couple ordered themselves a meal as well.

I treated that table like royalty, I enjoyed every second of watching that woman enjoy herself so much. I could tell she couldn't even believe how she was being treated.

She could only fit less than half her meal into a shrunken stomach, so I boxed the rest for her. The couple then asked for a dessert menu. As soon as she saw it, the dreaded-haired old woman's eyes lit up and she smiled a huge rotted-tooth smile as she pointed to the vanilla sundae she couldn't believe was on the menu, as if it was put on there just for her.

I brought her the best vanilla sundae, drowning in fudge and caramel and whipped cream. She barely could eat a fourth of it, but she wasn't in shock anymore and was babbling away happily to the couple who listened to her every story. I could tell she hadn't been listened to in a long time. And this was probably the first time in years where someone had looked her directly in the eye and had a conversation with her where she was the point of interest.

It was so touching the simple extravagance of a homeless woman being taken out to prime rib and a vanilla sundae and treated like a queen. So simple yet so mind blowing. Someone taking the time to show love to the unlovable, value to society's trash. This old lady was probably legitimately crazy but the young couple didn't care. They made her feel like the most interesting and beautiful person on the planet.

I brought out the bill after the meal. $9.67. Nine dollars and sixty-seven cents. With tax.

Someone else had noticed this special table too.

The young couple and homeless woman walked out of the restaurant, happy and in shock after swiping their card for 3 sodas.